The present invention relates to absorbent articles having improved rash-preventing properties and, particularly, to disposable diapers, disposable training pants, feminine hygiene products and adult incontinence products and methods of making same that include aloe vera gel and aloe vera solutions to reduce the occurrence of rashes often associated with such products.
Absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, disposable training pants, feminine hygiene products and adult incontinence products, are becoming increasingly common. These articles strive to effectively absorb bodily discharge, such as urine, while keeping the wearer's skin as dry as possible. While current absorbent articles exhibit increasingly improving absorbency properties, wearers continue to periodically experience rash, generally understood to result from contact between certain portions of a wearer's body, oftentimes the buttocks and crotch areas, and areas of the articles that contain or have been exposed to discharge or areas of the article of relatively high pressure. For reference purposes, the following discussion refers to such rashes by the commonly used phrase "diaper rash," with the understanding that the phrase refers to any such rash, irrespective of the type of absorbent article in question.
A variety of creams, powders, lotions and ointments have been proposed to prevent or reduce rash by creating a barrier layer to protect the exposed body areas from the rash-inducing discharge or high pressure. Such compositions generally attempt to alleviate diaper rash or prevent diaper rash or both. Examples of such products are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,556,560 and No. 4,996,238. One such lubricant is petrolatum. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,807 discloses the addition of petrolatum to the top sheet of a diaper in an attempt to reduce diaper rash irritation.
In addition to the above lubricants, ointments and the like, aloe vera has been recognized as a material that may be useful in treating or preventing diaper rash. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,362,488; No. 5,436,007 and No. 4,711,780 describe various creams and lotions that include aloe vera or aloe vera derivatives and are used to treat diaper rash. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,155; No. 5,332,118; No. 4,732,797; No. 4,772,501; No. 5,049,440 and No. 5,141,803 describe baby wipes that include aloe vera, for example, as a moisturizer.
Aloe vera also has been included in disposable absorbent articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,059 describes an ambulatory adult pad for reducing bedsores, pressure sores, decubitus ulcers and similar lesions. In one embodiment, the pad may include 15-25 grams per square meter of aloe vera as a free lubricant layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,346 describes a diaper rash lotion that may include 0-5% by weight of aloe vera. In one embodiment, the lotion, which is an oil-in-water emulsion that includes a buffering system of citric acid and sodium citrate, is impregnated into the diaper. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,204, is directed to a method for spraying baby powder onto and into diapers to increase the absorbency of the diapers. The patent mentions that from about 0.3-4.5% by weight of Alocel C, an aloe vera extract, may be included in the powder as a skin protectant.
The articles, creams and methods disclosed in the aforementioned patents are somewhat useful in alleviating rashes. These articles, however, fail to disclose an article with effective concentrations of preferred compositions, such as aloe vera, that can be produced by a simple method. Furthermore, the references which disclose aloe vera fail to adequately reduce friction between the wearer's skin and high pressure areas of the articles and methods of making the same. Additionally, the references fail to address processing and spoilage considerations inherent in methods of applying aloe vera to disposable articles.
Hence, improved designs for disposable absorbent articles and improved process for making the same are needed.